This presentation is brief about the collection, packaging and Forwarding of Forensic evidence.

1. Topic – Collection Packaging and
Forwarding of Physical Evidence
Presented by:- Pallavi Kumari

2. CONTENT
1. Preservation
2. General precautions
3. Packaging
4. Sealing, Marking and Labelling
5. Chain of Custody
6. Dispatch to the Laboratory

3. 1. PRESERVATION
• From loss
• From damage or
deterioration
• From contamination
• From tempering

4. 2. GENERAL
PRECAUTIONS
 Investigating officer should wear proper
clothing and gloves that transferring of
evidences like hairs, dust, fibers and
biological fluid do not take place.
 Microtraces such as hair, fibers, broken glass
pieces, paper bits, etc. Should always be
handled with a rubber tipped forceps.
 Glass spoon appears to be more suitable
collect chemicals and corrosive liquids such
as acids and alkalies.

5.  Weapons with sharp edges such as knife should
be handled with the tip of index finger ensuring
that no evidence is destroyed.
 Firearm should be lifted with finger held at the butt
and barrel. It should not be picked up shoving a
pencil into the barrel.
 Fresh or wet blood or blood stained clothing
should not be packaged in an airtight container as
evidence may be spoiled.
 Fired bullets, pellets, empty cartridges, wads, etc.
should be picked up with rubber tipped forceps.

6. Powdered substances such as dust,
pollens, saw-dust, metal-dust, should
be collected with a soft brush on a
clean white paper.
Documents should always be lifted
with the help of rubber tipped forceps.

7. 3. PACKAGING
1. BLOOD
On absorbent objects
• Cut stained part
• Dry in shadow & air
• Cut a control sample
• Package all materials separately

8. On non-absorbent objects
. If blood is wet, for large amount, suck up liquid
blood with a disposable pipette & then package.
. For small amount of blood, rub a small piece of
cotton on the stain.
. For dry blood, if amount is large, scrape into a
small hard plastic container using scalpel.
. Small amount of blood can be collected by
rubbing a piece of moistened cotton on the stain.

9. 2. SEMINAL STAINS
. Take colour photograph of stains & their
pattern.
. Collect articles having stains.
. Allow stains at air dry.
. Packed in paper bag or paper envelope.

10. 3. HAIRS
On fixed object
 Collect with plastic tweezers.
 Store with folded paper & package in paper
envelope or plastic bag.
On movable object
 Collect and preserve whole object such as
clothing, bed sheet, blanket
 Wrap with clean paper & plastic bag.

11. 4. SALIVA
 Collect on clean white gauze wearing a
pair of gloves.
 Allow to air dry.
 Packed in rigid plastic container.

12. 5. DOCUMENTS
 Collect with plastic tweezers
 Do not fold the document.
 Package in a paper envelope or plastic
bag with a piece of cardboard

13. 6.BOTANICAL MATERIAL
 Take colour photograph of various types of
vegetations.
 Try to collect whole plants with roots.
 Package the plant in paper bags along
with cardboard to prevent damage.

14. 7. FINGERPRINTS
 Package flat articles bearing fingerprint in
a plywood board-box keeping the surface
untouched with anything whatsoever.
 If article is not flat, cage it between 2
boards by string or wire.
 Thermocol may be used in place of
perforated plywood boards.

15. 8. Footprints, Shoeprints, and Tyre-
mark
 Take black and white photograph with proper
scale.
 Make plaster of paris cast.
 Package the cast on a board with thick cotton
pads tied with string & place in large card-board
box for further examination.

16. 9. PAINT
On clothing
 Collect fragile traces first in paper fold & package in a
paper or plastic envelope.
 Collect whole clothing & package individually in plastic
bag.
 On vehicle or tool
 Collect the vehicle or tool used in the crime.
 Collect paint chips in folder paper packaged in rigid
plastic container so that paint chips should not be
fragmented further.

17. 10. SOIL AND DUST
 Collect traces from the suspected vehicle
or footwear and package in rigid plastic
container.
 Collect clothing of the suspect & package
them in paper bag.
 Collect clothing reference sample from the
crime scene & package in plastic container.

18. 11. FIRE DEBRIS
 Collect small & large debris from the place of
fire.
 Cut up large object into small & package
separately in plastic bag.
 Collect materials having smell of inflammable in
air tight plastic bag to restrict evaporation.

19. 4. SEALING, MARKING
AND LABELLING
 Should be marked with a biological hazard label
and those that contain items that are dangerous to
human life should be marked with a chemical
hazard label.
 All packages should be sealed in such a manner
that make quite impossible to open them keeping
seals intact.
 The sample of concerned seal should always be
sent with both sealing wax and stamp pad ink
impressions along with the forwarding letter.

20. 5. CHAIN OF CUSTODY
 Packaging depends upon the nature of evidence and
the requirement to preserve it.
 The requirement, thus serves to help ensure that the
evidence is authentic enough, and that is the same
which was initially seized and that it is in same
condition.
 Apart from the process that establishes the authenticity
and identity of the evidence throughout its movement
from the crime scene to the court of law, there is also a
chain of custody document that accompanies the
evidence.

21. 6. DISPATCH TO THE
LABORATORY
 Physical evidence forwarded should be described in
detail with the information as to when and where it was
found, who found and how it was processed and
forwarded.
 All the articles should marked properly on the
container or package.
 Label, initial and seal all envelopes and packages
without fail.
 The letter of advice should contain the sample of
seals, specimen signature of the investigator and the
witnesses.

22. THANK YOU